Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson

This novel opens up with a quote from Death Cab for Cutie: Love is watching someone die. But while you should probably prepare yourself for a tearjerker, there are also a number of layers to this story that might surprise you.

Taylor Edwards and her family used to always spend summers at the lake in Pennsylvania, at least until after the summer she was twelve. The summer of the botched romance, the fallout with her best friend, and the inability to confront any of her fears. But this year, they are going back to spend one last season all together at their summerhouse. With the news of late stage cancer, this will likely be her dad's last summer ever.

There are certainly a lot of "issues" packed into this thick novel, but the story manages to be touching and frustrating at all the right times, and even if it doesn't resonate with every reader, there is value in the message that lives are meant to be lived, not avoided. Morgan Matson also wrote the beloved Amy & Roger's Epic Detour.

Reviewed by kate the librarian.

Waiting by Carol Lynch Williams

London Castle is utterly and completely lost. She and Zach had spent the last sixteen years together traveling the world with their missionary parents, tied solely to each other and their faith. And now Zach is utterly and completely gone.

Through extraordinary poetic storytelling, the reader discovers pieces of the past nine months little by little. And little by little, Zach's relationship with Rachel, London's love for them and for Taylor, and the Castle family dynamic all begin to come together to form the tragedy of misunderstanding, depression, and pure grief. But there are bright spots, too, that fill in the gaps. London finds Lilli and Jesse (or maybe they find her), and she begins to gain back some of the faith, strength, and love that she just assumed would be gone from her forever now that her brother is gone. But she also allows herself to gain little pieces of Zach back into her life, too -- the good and the bad.

This is a novel filled with beautiful words and ugly emotions, and it's the perfect read for teens who love tearjerkers and who can handle brutal honesty and the terrifying reality of depression. Not for all, but wonderful for some. (I wish that there had been more of a conclusion with or explanation of Jesse, but overall, I loved this book. It's a quick read that packs a major punch.)

Reviewed by kate the librarian.

Saint Iggy by K. L. Going

Iggy has it pretty rough, but as far as he’s concerned, life isn’t always that bad. Sometimes Mom goes away to visit people, but she almost always comes back home. Dad’s asleep most of the time, and Iggy knows to lay low when his deal Freddie comes around; Freddie isn’t such a nice guy. School can be a pain, but that’s just because they don’t understand Iggy. Even when they set up a hearing to decide on Iggy’s expulsion from high school, maybe there is a way that Iggy can prove them all wrong? He’s got one friend, the mostly cool Mo, who might be able to help him out.

But Mo has problems of his own, and when he gets himself into some financial trouble with the most intimidating drug dealer Iggy knows, Mo comes up with some big ideas for a plan that will make everything all better. Iggy’s struggle to become someone who can contribute something good to the world is interrupted by the need to survive each new day that keeps coming.

This story is layered with a painful innocence that clashes with the harshness of reality. It’s recommended to all ages, but be cautious that most readers will fall in love with Iggy and then be forced to recognize that life doesn’t always work out as planned.

Reviewed by kate the librarian.

After Ever After by Jordan Sonnenblick

Jeffery tries not to let all that much get to him these days. After all, he's only in eighth grade and he's already survived cancer. But then again, his parents fight all the time, his dad pretty much avoids spending any time with him, and his brother Steven ran away to Africa just to get away from him. Oh, and he's failing math and now he'll need to get through a standardized test just to get into high school. It's a good thing that the cute new girl totally digs him, and that his best friend Tad -- also a superhero cancer survivor -- is willing to tutor him so that he can graduate. In exchange, Jeffery is going to make sure that Tad can get out of his wheelchair and walk across stage to receive his diploma.

The problem is: sometimes cancer gets in the way of the best laid plans.

This novel is a step up in terms of literary quality and well-rounded appeal from last generation's Lurlene McDaniel paperbacks. Recommended to anyone and everyone, especially those who don't mind a tearjerker with a lot of laughs, or a comedy that tugs at your heartstrings. This is a companion novel to Jordan Sonnenblick's Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie.
Call number: YA SONNENBLICK (Teen Room)

Reviewed by kate the librarian.

BOOK CLUB - SEPT - Oldies, but Goodies by Susan Beth Pfeffer

Susan Beth Pfeffer has written lots and lots of books, including Life as We Knew It (the 2009 One Book NJ selection) and companion the dead & the gone. As a teen, I grew up reading Susan Beth Pfeffer too, but instead of meteors and shopping center scenes, I just remember crying a lot. Recently I reread two of Pfeffer's acclaimed novels, hoping to use one for our Book Club discussion meeting during Banned Books Week. There may have been less tears this time around, but my heart and my head both struggled to find a place of comfort long after the stories' conclusions. There is little comfort to be found in those pages.

If there is one theme throughout most of Susan Beth Pfeffer's writing, it is about perspective. These are books that make you think, even if you don't want to.

The Year Without Michael tells of everyone's story but Michael's. When Michael disappears shortly before he begins his first year of high school, his family doesn't know how to cope. Sixteen-year-old Jody was the last to see him -- he was leaving the house to play with a friend, promising to be home by dinnertime -- and he seemed just fine, normal. With little to go on, the police don't know if Michael ran away or was kidnapped, if he's still out there somewhere or dead. Now Jody needs to comfort and support her little sister, Kay, try to be the backbone of the family while her parents fight, and listen to her grandparents blaming her parents and her parents blaming the police. Jody just blames Michael.

About David is the heart-wrenching story of David as seen through the eyes of his best friend Lynn. When evidence is clear that the seventeen-year-old was responsible for the shooting of both his parents before turning the gun on himself, Lynn is shocked. But she isn't surprised. David is Lynn's oldest friend, and she knows him pretty well, but she also knows that he had secrets and that he was severely unhappy. He never came to terms with the fact that he was adopted, and he struggled with his adoptive parents' extremely high expectations of him. But what could possibly lead him to believing that this was his only way out, his only way of relieving his own pain?

Request these books through the BCCLS catalog or ask a librarian!

Reviewed by kate the librarian

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Mia has a pretty sweet life. She's the daughter of used-to-be-punk-rock-stars. She's in love with a boy in a punk rock band. (He's in love with her right back.) She has an 8-year-old brother, and they worship each other. Her whole life, she's been immersed in the Seattle scene, surrounded by music and all types of artistic impression. And, it hasn't always been super easy, but she is finally coming to terms with shunning her punk rock genes in favor of becoming a talented cellist; she's even waiting to hear about her audition at Julliard!

But sometimes things are just too good to be true, and this story is tragic. Mia is left in a coma from a car crash; her parents and her little brother die at the scene of the accident. While her body is in a coma, Mia can see, smell, and hear everything going on around her. And it's up to her to decide if she should "go" or if she should "stay."

This story will stay with the reader far beyond the last tissue.

For more musical fiction try Sarah Dessen's Just Listen or Gordon Korman's Born to Rock; for those who love tearjerkers try Jenny Downham's Before I Die or Brooke Taylor's Undone; or check out Punk Rock Etiquette by Travis Nichols or Revolution on Canvas, edited by Rich Balling, for more on the punk rock indie scene.

Recommended to middle and high school readers.
Call number: YA FORMAN (Teen Room)

Reviewed by kate the librarian